Michael 'TonyBandanas' Lavin Wins 2021 World Series of Poker Online $600 No-Limit Hold'em MonsterStack Event

Michael ‘TonyBandanas’ Lavin is the latest player to win a World Series of Poker gold bracelet during the Pennsylvania segment of the 2021 WSOP Online. He defeated a field of 288 total entries in the $600 no-limit hold’em MonsterStack event, earning $39,642 and his first bracelet.

This was the Beverly, New Jersey resident’s second win in a WSOP branded event, having earned a gold ring in the $215 buy-in no-limit hold’em event during the 2020 WSOP.com Online Fall Circuit Series. Lavin took home $29,800 for that victory.

The final table of this event began with Charles ‘pokervanman’ Alex-Barton in the chip lead and Lavin in third chip position. Anthony ‘Ler0yBr0wn’ Huntsman was the first to fall. His A-9 ran into the A-Q of ‘Diceluxovi’, which held to narrow the field to eight competitors. Huntsman cashed for $2,722 as the ninth-place finisher.

Brian ‘BigTIme2021’ Cassel’s run in this event came to an end when his pocket nines clashed with the pocket kings of Robert ‘Badbeat1512’ Sembler. The kings remained ahead through the river and Cassel hit the virtual rail in eighth place ($3,499).

Joshua ‘ClearEyes’ Berardi saw his AJ go from a preflop favorite to a big postflop underdog against Matthew ‘RunGoodRick’ Boulden’s J10 when the first three cards revealed were the KQ9. The 2 o the turn left Berardi in need of a ten on the end, but the Q completed the board instead. Berardi finished seventh, earning $4,681 for his deep run.

Lavin scored his first knockout at the final table when his pocket eights won a race against the K10 of Alex-Barton, who flopped an open-ended straight draw but found no additional help on later streets. Alex-Barton took home $6,252 for his sixth-place showing.

Kicker problems spelled the end of Greg ‘Donostia’ Wish. He called off the last of his chips with top pair and an eight kicker, only to get shown the top pair, ten kicker of Boulden. Wish cashed for $8,445, while Boulden took the chip lead heading into four-handed action.

That lead was short-lived, though, as Lavin’s quad kings bested the nut flush of Boulden to see the lead change hands. Lavin picked up pocket kings again shortly after that and held up against the A10 of ‘Diceluxovi’ (4th – $11,804) to extend his advantage.

Lavin got involved in yet another big pot holding pocket kings, but this time his hand was up against the pocket aces of Boulden. The superior pair held up and the leaderboard changed yet again. Sembler bowed out in third place when his A10 lost a flip against the pocket eights of Boulden, who flopped a set. Sembler took home $16,843.

Boulden started heads-up play with 7,342,234 to Lavin’s 4,177,766. The two swapped places yet again when Lavin rivered an ace-high straight to take down a healthy pot. In the final hand of the event, Lavin min-raised to 320,000 from the button with KQ and Boulden three-bet all-in for 3,210,832 out of the big blind with 99. Lavin called and the board ran out Q8324 to secure the pot and the title for Lavin. Boulden earned $24,494 as the runner-up finisher.

Here is a look at the payouts awarded at the final table:

Photo credit: Borgata poker blog.

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